Sterling Capital Management LLC Reduces Holdings in Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX)

Sterling Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX) by 44.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 267,497 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 213,623 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Gentex were worth $7,685,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GNTX. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Gentex in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its stake in Gentex by 138.8% in the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,139 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 662 shares during the last quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Gentex in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its holdings in Gentex by 32.5% in the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 2,419 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 593 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Gentex during the 4th quarter worth about $96,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.76% of the company’s stock.

Gentex Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of GNTX opened at $21.17 on Friday. Gentex Co. has a twelve month low of $20.28 and a twelve month high of $35.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.84. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $23.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.43.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The auto parts company reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.10). Gentex had a return on equity of 16.74% and a net margin of 17.49%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.50 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Gentex Co. will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Gentex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. Gentex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.27%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $31.00 price objective on shares of Gentex in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group reduced their price target on Gentex from $29.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Guggenheim set a $30.00 price objective on Gentex in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Gentex from $28.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, B. Riley reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $32.50 price target (down from $37.00) on shares of Gentex in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $29.81.

Gentex Company Profile

Gentex Corporation designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and supplies digital vision, connected car, dimmable glass, and fire protection products in the United States, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Republic of Korea, and internationally. It operates through Automotive Products and Other segments. The company offers automotive products, including interior and exterior electrochromic automatic-dimming rearview mirrors, automotive electronics, and non-automatic-dimming rearview mirrors for automotive passenger cars, light trucks, pick-up trucks, sport utility vehicles, and vans for original equipment manufacturers, automotive suppliers, and various aftermarket and accessory customers.